Amazon has announced the launch of 'Amazon Channels', a service that lets users pic'n'mix television channel subscriptions.

The new platform, which is being delivered through the existing Prime Video app, allows customers to select from more than 40 on-demand TV channels. These include Discovery, hayu, MGM and Amazon's own curated Bollywood channel Heera.

Unlike many other services which require users to purchase broad packages with access to dozens of networks, Channels lets users subscribe to however many or few they want. Each channel has a unique monthly subscription fee, and doesn't require a contract.

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In typical Amazon style, the channels are available via a single click.

Prices of the various channels vary between £1.49 for cooking channel Panna, to more expensive channels like Sweatflix, which offers "HIIT workouts and yoga flows for £9.49 a month".

Most content delivered through Channels will also be available to download to watch on demand. New customers will be able to access free trials "for the majority of subscriptions".

Users of Prime Video can easily move between Channels and other Prime Video content like American Gods, as they're delivered by the same app.

The Channels service has already launched in the US, and provides access to HBO, Showtime and Cinemax – a more appealing list of headliners than the UK version.

"For the first time, Prime members in the UK and Germany will be able to choose to watch premium TV channels without having to sign up to a bundle or a contract, giving them the freedom to pay for only what they want to watch," said Alex Green, head of Amazon Channels in Europe.

"From live sport to Bollywood, arthouse cinema to reality TV, and award-winning TV shows from popular channels like Discovery and ITV, Amazon Channels gives power back to customers to choose exactly what they want to watch."

Amazon says the current lineup, which includes entries like the sailing-focused Nautical Channel, and Gaia, a yoga and nutrition focused channel, is set to expand over the coming months.